Season's flu shot totals
still tracking last year's
 |
| Flu shots are already available from local doctors and at the health department for $25. (MICHAEL WHITE/The Rockbridge Report) |
The sluggish economy isn’t stopping Rockbridge County residents from opening their wallets and pulling up their sleeves to get flu shots this season.
“It comes down to this: What's worse, $25 now or missing a full week of work from getting the flu? That's a pretty easy question, I think," said Susan Zollman, a public health nurse at the Rockbridge-Lexington Health Department. Besides, many health insurance plans cover the full cost of the shots.
Since October the department has given 980 flu shots, said Zollman. That puts the number on track with last season’s total of 1,152 shots from early October to mid-June, she said.
“It’s stupid not to [get a flu shot], and my mom always makes sure I get one so I don’t get sick,” said Washington and Lee University sophomore Austin Bone. “Especially living in a frat [fraternity] house, germs spread fast.”
Flu season often starts about February, but Zollman warned it can also begin much earlier. Virginia this season was the first state to report a widespread outbreak of the flu, in the first week of January, according to a weekly survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Zollman said an increase in the shots’ availability might account for the county’s steady vaccination rate. Vaccine manufacturers estimate that a record 143 million to 146 million doses of flu vaccine will be produced for the 2008-2009 influenza season, the CDC reported.
Flu shots are more readily available from local doctors and the health department this season, said Zollman, who administers about 11 shots per day.
The CDC recommends that all children six months through 18 years old receive immunization.
The vaccine is available from late October to mid-June from local doctors or at the county health department, which serves Lexington, Buena Vista and the county from its offices at 300 White St.
College students looking to get vaccinated also have other options available, Zollman said. This season Southern Virginia University partnered with the Buena Vista Health Department to administer the vaccine to students there, said the SVU health center’s director, Ginger Lanier.
At Washington and Lee University, students can swipe the $25 flu shot onto their student ID cards.
“Our students can stop in 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and get the shot as easily as a meal,” said Brenda Clark, the university’s student health and insurance coordinator.
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